A Look Back: Eddie Leonard

In an effort to link the past with the present, The Jewish Boxing Blog will offer monthly a short biography of notable former Jewish boxers.

Eddie Leonard was a good Baltimore-based fighter who fought exclusively in the Mid-Atlantic region during his career in the 1920s. His legacy, however, stems from his career after boxing.

Bernard Simon was born May 17, 1905 in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was raised. He became a professional boxer as a teenager. As with the great Benny Leonard, who purportedly took his surname from the famous minstrel actor, Eddie Leonard, so that his mother would not discover his new profession, it's likely that Simon took his new moniker from the same man for the same reason.

In fact, there were a few Eddie Leonards fighting during the 1920s, which makes it difficult to pin down this Eddie Leonard's actual record. BoxRec lists nine fights in New York on Leonard's record from 1921 to 1922. Another Eddie Leonard probably took part in those fights, because our Eddie Leonard would have been 15 years old for his first fight. BoxRec admits that the identity of the true Eddie Leonard is in question for these fights.

Leonard likely partook in his pro debut in August 1923 against Porky Flynn in Baltimore at the age of 18. A flyweight, he stood 5'4" and fought with his hair slicked and parted in the middle. He wore a Star of David with the letters "EL" inside it on his trunks over his left thigh

Managed by Max Weinman and trained by Heine Blaustein, Leonard built up his record against inexperienced opponents early in his career. He was 12-0-1 when he suffered his first loss to Battling Frye. In their many duels, Leonard went 3-2 against his fellow Baltimore native with four of their fights taking place in 1924.

Leonard's best wins came against a fellow Jewish Baltimorean, Marty Gold, who he defeated twice, once in 1926 and again in 1927. Leonard's biggest fight came against a Londoner and former title challenger, Ernie Jarvis. Jarvis won an eight-round decision in that one. In 1928, Leonard fought for the last time, a loss to Troy Ross.

Leonard's record was somewhere in the ballpark of 45-4-1 with 6 KOs and three newspaper victories, although Thomas Scharf asserts that "Leonard fought around 50 battles during his first two years after turning professional in 1923." Eddie was never stopped.

Comedian Dick Curtis claimed that Leonard was owned by the mob. After his boxing career, Eddie became a referee and judge. He was in the ring with the likes of Joe Louis, Archie Moore, and Willie Pep. Eddie also ran a few businesses. Kliph Nesteroff explains, "As the Mob's pugilists aged they were often granted their own nightclub, as casually as a retiring office worker receives a gold watch."

Eddie opened Eddie Leonard's Spa in Baltimore. This was no day spa; it was a strip club. Curtis described it as one of the worst strip joints in the world. He explained, "I opened at Eddie Leonard's Spa in Baltimore on Christmas Eve. This was in 1952. Can you imagine who would go to a strip joint on Christmas Eve in 1952?"

Curtis's material was clean, much to the chagrin of the angry audience. Leonard came over to Curtis during an interlude and said, "Hey, kid. Don't you know nothing dirty?" Curtis retorted, "No, I don't do that, Eddie. People tell me I look like a choir boy." Eddie answered, "You better learn something dirty or you're on your way out of here."

Curtis did, but the audience continued to viciously heckle him. Leonard came over to him during another interlude and said, "Hey, kid. Don't do those dirty jokes in here 'cause you look like a choir boy." Curtis later asked Eddie why he hadn't been fired in the wake of the patrons' reaction to his comedy. Leonard snapped, "Shut up. You got a tuxedo. You make my show look good."

Leonard also opened a line of carryout establishments, typically in poor neighborhoods, in the 1950s called Eddie Leonard's Sandwich Shop. A number of them are still open in the D.C.-Baltimore area, although they've all been bought out by immigrants from Asia. Of all the fights Leonard- who died in May of 1983- took part in, the sandwich shops have become his lasting legacy.

Bibliography
Debose, Brian. "Eddie Leonard's - 63 years and still going." Be About Design. February 8, 2012.
Nesteroff, Kliph. "An Interview with Dick Curtis - Part One." Classic Television Showbiz. September 24, 2011.
Nesteroff, Kliph. "The Comedians, The Mob and the American Supperclub." WMFU's Beware of the Blog. February 19, 2012.
Scharf, Thomas. Baltimore's Boxing Legacy, 1893-2003. 2003.

Carolina Duer vs. Mayra Alejandra Gomez

July 26, 2013
Club Deportivo San Vicente
Buenos Aires, Argentina
WBO bantamweight championship


Duer: white top, black skirt
Gomez: blue top, blue trunks

Duer Wins Vacant World Title

Carolina Raquel Duer won the vacant WBO batamweight title by way of unanimous decision over her co-nationalist, Mayra Alejandra Gomez, at Club Deportivo San Vicente in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Duer, who wore a black skirt with a white top, dictated the action. Depending on her mood, she alternated between boxing on the outside and charging at Gomez, who wore a blue top and blue trunks with slits. Duer's hands were faster and her punches were hard enough to grab Gomez's attention from the outset of the fight.

Gomez chose a curious strategy. She wanted to pressure Duer, but as soon as Duer stopped boxing and charged at Gomez, Mayra fled to the other side of the ring. The result was Gomez countered very rarely and her pressure was ineffective. Gomez bizarrely taunted Duer virtually every time she ran.

Gomez was at her best when Duer stood in front of her and didn't throw, which didn't happen often. Gomez connected with a few eye catching shots, such as a right at the end of the fourth and a hard right towards the end of the ninth. But Duer's defense was as good as it's been in recent years. Her running charges thwarted Gomez's offense, she was effective to the body, and threw a ton of combinations.

With Duer firmly in charge, Gomez became frustrated in the seventh round. In the eighth, Gomez became combative with referee Jorge Basili. She accused Duer of hitting low and rabbit punching, but those accusations were a defense mechanism since things were not going Gomez's way. To her credit, Gomez fought back and had her best round in the ninth. But by the tenth, Duer was back on the attack.

Two judges, Roberto Rilo and Jorge Millicay, scored the bout 96-94 and a third judge, Héctor Miguel, scored it 98-92. Miguel's score was a far more accurate depiction of the bout.

This is the second weight division in which Duer has won the world championship. She is now 15-3-1 with 5 KOs. Gomez falls to 13-3 with 4 KOs. This was Duer's second attempt at the title. Two months ago, Duer drew with Sabrina Maribel Perez for the same vacant title.

Foreman Shuts Out Davis

Yuri Foreman defeated Jamaal Davis by way of unanimous decision at Roseland Ballroom in New York, New York last night. All three judges scored the bout 80-72. Foreman moves his record to 31-2 with 8 KOs, while Davis falls to 14-10-1 with 6 KOs.

Foreman arrived at Roseland at 7:30 in the evening; his fight didn't begin until 10:30. During the hours of waiting in the dressing room, Foreman tried to stay positive. His trainer and manager exchanged funny stories as Foreman kept telling himself, "Stick to the plan. I've done the hard work. It's just another day at the office." He also calmed himself spiritually by reading passages from the Book of Psalms.

Foreman's routine in the dressing room before his fight tends to be the same whether he's facing an opponent he's expected to defeat, as was the case with Davis, or a bout for the championship against Miguel Cotto in Yankee Stadium. He feels just as much pressure against a fighter of the caliber of Jamaal Davis because Yuri has "everything to lose" as a decided favorite. The only difference is the amount of people hanging around the dressing room, which depends on the prestige of his opponent.

Foreman didn't know what to expect from Davis coming into the bout because he didn't have a lot of information about the Philadelphia native. Foreman said his strategy was to box and use lateral movement. Yuri felt he was more aggressive than in recent fights, he went to the body more, and mixed up his punches well. When Foreman had Davis on the ropes, he didn't preferred to allow Davis off the hook rather than press his advantage.

Foreman was proudest that he was able to implement what he and his trainer had worked on in the gym in the fight against Davis. Foreman was fluid throughout the bout while Davis was hesitant.

The former world champion described Davis as "a rugged fighter." He felt Davis was "good at landing combinations when he doesn't have to look for the opponent." Davis attempted to throw combos in the clinches against Foreman, something Yuri did his best to avoid. But after applying early pressure int he first round, Davis couldn't find Foreman because of the latter's movement and, as a result, was reluctant to throw punches.

In the fifth round, Davis was cut over his eye due to a clash of heads. Foreman began to target the eye with left hooks. Yuri sensed that Davis became more intense and applied more pressure in the aftermath of the cut. Foreman simply tried to stay in control in the face of Davis's perceived increase in aggressiveness.

Matt Richardson of FightNews.com was one of a smattering of Foreman critics following the fight. He characterized the bout as "a fairly dull fight" and a "snoozer." Richardson claimed a woman fell asleep in the front row during the contest and believes Yuri "has decent boxing skills but elects to run far more than punch, resulting in less than aesthetically pleasing performances."

To the general criticism that Foreman is a boring fighter, Yuri explained, "I like boxing. I like to use my brain [in the ring] and not use my brain as a punching bag. I like to outsmart my opponents." He added that if people don't appreciate that style, they don't have to watch. "They can turn the channel," he remarked.

One day after the fight, Foreman doesn't feel any soreness, but he is tired. "My fight was late last night and I had to wake up early for my kids. They don't care that I won last night. They won't let me sleep in." When asked if he told his eldest son Lev about the his victory, Yuri said that some friends had made a video of the bout for him and he showed it to his son. Lev then began throwing punches, but likely didn't understand that it was his father fighting and winning on the tape.

Foreman said his trainer believes he'll fight one more eight rounder and then move up to a ten round fight. For now, Foreman is taking a week off and going on vacation with his family. He'll be back in the gym in a week.